Under The Arabian Sunset
by Aeremay
Summary: The beautiful have only ruin waiting for them, ruin and heartbreak.
1. The Beginning

_This is my first fic. I don't mind flames or anything, actually I enjoy them. I kind of want some critique to my work and suggestions for improvement. And I thought it would be nice for a story on Desiree's past life and detail on how she became to be the malevolent ghosts she is today. _

* * *

><p>The glowing Arabian sun cast light over the desest, the bright orb of light sinking over her shoulder that would soon create a beautiful sunset. Waves of changing color, orange and pink with yellow and occasionally even red. Magnificent colors created by the will of Allah, giving her one of her only pleasures other than seeing to the Sultan's pleasures. Feet enveloped by violet silken slippers barely left footsteps in the still hot sand, feeling the warmth seep in through the thin pads on the bottom of the luxurious shoes. No breeze blew through the gardens of the Harem, the air stood still and she could see the heat distort the look of her surroundings, watching the effects with faint curiosity.<p>

The curvaceous young woman turned her body, her movements graceful and elegant as she sat on one of the beautifully carved stone benches in the gardens. Most of the other harem women had been called in to sleep now, but Desiree had always had privileges the others hadn't. The slender and beautiful young woman had captured the heart of the Sultan, whether it was through her looks or her personality, she didn't quite know but she had spent many hours in his quarters. More than any other harem, possibly even more than his own wife.

Long and sleek fingers gently brushed out the creases in her amethyst apparel, silk harem pants. They billowed out, gathering at the ankle with fitted ribbon that buttoned at the sides and at the top was a light gold sash that was fringed, at the front a jewel the color of amethyst. Her top was strapless, a tube-like top that matched the color of her pants, with a very light weight gold trim whilst the tanned olive skin of her stomach and back was shown to the world within the harem. Then there was the jewellery. Expensive and rare pieces of beauty given to her by the Sultan himself, gold earrings encrusted with diamonds that hung from delicate lobes, paired with a necklace of the finest gold, three jewels hanging from it to decorate her collarbone. Bracelets of perfect circles rested around her wrists, brilliant colors that were engraved with beautiful designs.

This young woman was quite beautiful, one of the most fair in Arabia. Her hair was the color of ebony, dark as midnight but full and thick. It fell in waves, long and loose to fall a few inches below her hips and shone in even the dimmest lights, decorated with a gold headdress. Her eyes were large and round, the color of a dark emerald drenched in alluring mystery while rimmed with a thick fringe of dark lashes. It was safe to say she was the object of many of the male servants lust, while she only fed the Sultan's.

But there was more than just her serving the Sultan, she _loved _the Sultan. He was the only man she had ever given her heart to, even if he had earned her heart. When she was younger, she had been sold into the Harem by her father and rejected the life she had at first, reluctantly carrying the duties she was forced into. Over time though, her heart began to soften and the small acceptance soon grew into a tender love. One she hoped was mutual with the man she served, one she prayed to Allah for.

Her emerald gaze had settled onto the setting sun, colors of orange and deep red dancing across the desert in that evening. The sunset was never the same, but always beautiful. Of course, sometimes the sunset was darker and put her on edge, like the one she had tonight. The scarlet in the sky was nearly the color of blood, not quite but close enough. A gentle breeze blew through the garden, rustling her hair so slightly that it was barely felt and a new scent came in from the desert, sage. Stars began to fill the eastern sky, bits of light that illuminated the darkness of night.

The voice of a servant carried out over the sand and brush, her head swiveling to the source of the sound, "The Sultan requests your presence." He told her, the deep voice of the servant so clear and sharp yet the meaning of the words gave her an pang of longing and the slender, curvy woman pushed herself up quickly and was led off by the servant.

Her footsteps were low and nearly silent thuds in the long and empty hallways, the walls rimmed in gold paint and decorated with beautiful paintings and murals of various stories. Stories of their gods. _Her _gods. The servant led her to a door, one of the many quarters of the Sultan. This was one she had been in before, one simple and elegant. It was decorated in white and gold, extravagant and beautiful. The door was held open for her, the olive-skinned beauty entering.

Her eyes were fixed upon the Sultan, another pang of longing in her chest. The man must've heard her enter, for he turned with a smile fixed upon his face, "Desiree, beloved. I have waited all day to see you, my beauty." He said, and the well-mannered harem girl bowed, ebony tresses falling over her shoulders towards the ground.

"My Lord..." Her sultry voice carried out; one of the few times she used it throughout the day. Sometimes she wondered how was it that she, a harem girl who was merely a slave and former peasant, had won the heart and affections of a powerful Sultan?

* * *

><p><em>So there it is~ Chapter one, tell me what you think. And sorry for overexaggerating her looks, but for a HAREM girl to capture the heart of the Sultan, you'd have to be pretty good looking to even capture his attention in the first place.<em> _Sorry about this chapter being so short, the others are longer._


	2. Vines Of Envy

_So here's the second chapter, I'm still working on the third. Sorry if you think the chapters are a little short, I'm trying to make them each roughly 1000 characters so that they're all the same length. I don't like having freakishly long chapters and others annoyingly tiny. _

_As for Desiree, just so I get this cleared up before I get some sort of review that says, "Desiree is so OOC! WTF?" I just want to say now, this is before she is evil. But I'm probably going to go into the beginning of her ghost life as well, not just her human life. Just to show her transition into evilness~ She's so much fun to write though! _

_ I need to figure out a schedule though, like when I'm going to post chapters. I'm thinking maybe Mondays and Wednesdays... _

* * *

><p>"Desiree, beloved, what is it that you desire?" The masculine, deep voice of the Sultan echoed in the room while the woman he spoke to faced away from him, the dainty head of the beautiful creature resting against the wall, her hand not far from it, pressed with her palm flat against the white paint and staring out into the nearly black sky. Stars twinkled, lighting up the sky and her mind envisioned designs and pictures made out of the stars.<p>

"I desire you, my Lord." She answered, but didn't turn her head. The moon glowed, a pale light emitted from the round light grey orb that sat in the sky. A gentle, tender light very much unlike the harsh and bright luminosity of the sun. The sensation of a warm and smooth hand was felt, fingertips gently brushing her temple and pulling tendrils of soft raven colored hair back and tucking them behind her ear, where she felt the hand move to delicately hold her shoulder, turning her around to face the handsome appearance of the well-kept Sultan.

"I could give you anything, my love. Even a kingdom of your very own, do you not desire that?" He asked, and her vibrant coral lips curled upwards in an alluring smile, the Sultan moving his hand to place it against her delicate jaw line before trailing his fingers along her jaw and down her neck, "Or perhaps you desire that of more tangible things? Do you desire even more elegant quarters? Perhaps a few more servants of your own? Imported perfumes and oils or clothing?" His voice became softer, "I promise to fulfill all of your hearts desires." In that moment, Desiree was the happiest she had ever been. This man, the one whom she had devoted her heart and soul to, now devoted his love to her. He had done so many times before, but now her heart beat quickly.

"My Lord… I-I-" For one of the very few times in her life, the usually flowing speech of sultry vocals was at a loss for words, but quickly regained her composure, "I am flattered, my Lord, that you would do such a thing for me but you know I couldn't ask of gifts from you when you've already given me so much." No one had ever promised to fulfill everything her heart had desired before. No one, except for the mother she remembered. The one who had died when she was merely four, while in childbirth. It wasn't something that had put a damper on her life, for women dying in childbirth was common.

"Don't be silly, Desiree. I have the world in the palm of my hand." He turned the female towards the window so she could see out upon the desert scented with sand and sage, one hand against her shoulder while the other rested against her hip. "As far as you can see, it all belongs to me. I can give you anything, absolutely anything with just the snap of my fingers. Anything for the most beautiful damsel under the Arabian sun...set." It then came with a satisfying thought that the Sultan had been watching her. Otherwise he would not have known of her love of sunsets, for she never spoke of her own interests often, but only commented and offered advice and comfort to the Sultan. He had to have been watching her in one of her moments alone, her admiring gaze towards the dancing colors of the setting sun. Her lips were curved in a pleased smile, full lips painted a deep coral, nearly matching the color of a pink rose.

"The most beautiful woman under the Arabian sunset? My Lord, that is quite a big assumption." The same lips then were pursed before she added on, "And you do have a wife, do you not? Isn't she the most beautiful woman?"

"It is the biggest and most true assumption. My emerald eyed beauty, my wife is nothing compared to my love for you. Marriage is simply a contract between families, it does not involve love. Not true love, like we have. Besides, Aliyah is such a plain creature." He told her, and Desiree felt as if her life was now… meaningful. She had something in her life to look forward to, she always did. _Him_. The Sultan.

"I see, my Lord. Are you saying I mean more to you than your own wife?" The words he spoke was like music to her ears, it pleased her more than any gift she could ever own to know that _she_ was the treasure that someone so desperately wanted.

"Of course, beloved." He said, stroking the delicately formed waves of ebony tresses, soft and thick under his smooth fingers. This woman was truly one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen, if not the most beautiful.

* * *

><p>Envy spread throughout her bones, Aliyah was fuming from behind the door. She was the Sultans wife! How dare he spend all of his time with some harlot from his harem instead of with his own wife! Was it not shameful enough that she had to produce an heir when her own husband would never even come into her quarters at night for even one measly kiss? However was she supposed to produce an heir when her husband would barely ever even touch her…?<p>

She was not as young or beautiful as the spoiled dove he spent all of his time with, but she came from a wealthy family and had a high social status. Aliyah didn't have the most beautiful face or slender and curved body, but she was the Sultan's wife, and _she_ should have her husband. Not a harlot.

Was it that she was as ugly as a mule? That was known not to be true. She couldn't be. She thought herself to be beautiful, even if she had just heard her own husband call her plain to please the spoiled dove that was in his arms at this very moment. Even though the woman told herself otherwise, it was true. Aliyah was plain… Not ugly, but not beautiful.

But Aliyah only had one thought in her shallow mind; the harem girl had to go. Tight-lipped, the woman stormed off and slammed the large door to her quarters shut, the bang echoing throughout the halls while her hands were clenched into fists, knuckles white.

* * *

><p><em>I tried to write Aliyah the best I could... I made her jealous and mean, and I also gave reason for the Sultan to love Desiree more than Aliyah. Aliyah is mean and snobby because of her high social status, and she's pretty but not exceptionally beautiful while Desiree, she kind of has to be beautiful to get the Sultan's attention, and then she needs to be charming and wonderful to keep his attention. <em>

_I still don't really have a name for the Sultan though~ And I have no idea what time period this is in either. Grr. I would say though, probably early AD or late BC? Around then, but in the Middle East.  
><em>


	3. Enounter With The Past

_This chapter is a little bit longer than I usually make them. Around 1,700... But I had a lot to say, this is an important chapter in the grand scheme of Desiree's life. ^^_

* * *

><p>The sun sat like a crown upon dusty mountains, casting magnificent rays of light across the desert. The dry sand absorbed the heat gratefully, the dry and much too hot climate seemingly enough to wipe out all life in the desert. Yet somehow, bits of beauty shone through the hopeless conditions and showed how in even the most dank circumstances, there is hope. Hope of new life, hope of redemption, hope of <em>love<em>.

Holding a thick scroll in her hand, she sat on the elegant and expensive bed in her quarters, studying the scroll with intent even though she couldn't read the symbols on the reed pages. A few she could understand, but many she couldn't. Desiree was still learning how to read, having come to the harem a uneducated girl. But of course, she quickly won the affection of the Sultan and one of her innermost desires was to be educated even though in Saudi Arabia, women were not educated. But her master gave her anything her heart desired, and Desiree was quite spoiled.

Her thin, well groomed eyebrows were scrunched, emerald eyes scanning the page, "Hmm.. Urrrabiun hursas?" The woman mispronounced the words on the page, correctly pronounced as 'Arabian Horses'. It was a scroll used to teach young boys how to read, and she was learning the basics. The browned and old scroll crinkled at the smallest movement, manicured nails holding the page in front of her, basking in the light of an opened window. Life had been blissful happiness since that night, and she had met with the Sultan on the balcony that overlooked all of Saudi Arabia in his highest tower, watching the sunset.

Daytime was the worst; they were long and tiring and spent in fitful waiting of the sunset. The dancing of majestic colors in the sky that changed the shade of the desert and cast colorful shadows. It was absolutely wonderful, her favorite time of day.

But during the time while the sun was in the center of the sky, Desiree had to occupy her time with other things. Such as walks, lessons, and helping the younger harem girls. She praised Wadd, the god of love and friendship, for the blessings rained upon her by the ever faithful Sultan. Of course, Wadd did sometimes play tricks on her… Such as the moments when she passed by the Sultan's wife, Aliyah, and felt the scathing glares shot at her and she knew the woman would just as willingly shoot daggers at her.

"Would you like to go for a walk?" One of the large, nearly frightening guards asked her. They weren't scary to her anymore, not after so many years of dealing with the usually snarly men. If Desiree had spent more time building on her strength, she could probably push one of them over and not have anything done to her. All bark, no bite. For the most part… Desiree nodded and stood up, placing the scrolls down gingerly on her untidy bed. A maid would clean it later, and if not she could.

"Yes, I think a walk would be nice today, don't you?" She asked, a smile on her lips. No answer, as usual. The guards were always so… quiet. Silent, and they liked to pretend they were menacing and would snap a rebellious woman in two, but they really couldn't do such a thing or risk prosecution. The sun was warm against her bare shoulders and arms, but for the sake of modesty she hung a shawl over the tanned olive skin before the guard whom she knew as Amir, led her out of the harem. Her eyes trailed along the peasant stands, raking over the fresh fruits and different varieties of produce and other valuables, the bustling civilians who bartered and carefully watched over their valuables to make sure none of it was snatched up in the chaos of the market.

* * *

><p>Aliyah snarled, slamming her fist down on her dresser and scaring one of the servants with her fury. The younger girl, not a year older than fifteen, scrambled to the other edge of the room and began to work there, as far as she could from the enraged woman.<p>

"How to get rid of her? How?" She said, her dark brown eyes looking into the mirror in front of her. How could she get rid of one incompetent girl? Aliyah wanted her husband to herself… She wanted her husband to actually _be_ her husband, not just her guardian and until she got rid of the harem girl, she wouldn't ever truly have her husband. He'd be off fooling around with a pretty harlot.

Aliyah wanted… She wanted the Sultan to love her. Aliyah wanted to be the _only _woman in the Sultan's life… She didn't want to share her husband with a concubine! She needed to find something utterly horrid in that woman… Something despicable and something that would shame her in the Sultan's sight… But from what Aliyah saw, the woman, Desiree, had no fault. The other female was younger, more beautiful, rarely spoke and obeyed all rules, even if she didn't have to abide by most of them. Then again, no human was perfect. There had to be something swept under the rug, or something being hidden.

She had to find that fault! Aliyah would send every spy she had, every single one of them to go and watch that harem girl's every movement until they found something punishable and forbidden. There was always something. Her dark brown eyes trailed to the hair by her temples to see a small bit of grey coming from her roots, her fingers running through her thick brown hair in a way that concealed the greyness a little more before a sigh left her lips. She was getting old, and hadn't known how long she had been married for the Sultan without children and yet everyone in the kingdom, all of her subjects, they all expected her to have a child. An heir to the throne. It probably wasn't even possible, with her luck.

But everything would improve when she got rid of that little harlot… Everything…

The small servant girl blinked, watching the wife of the Sultan with curiosity. Her outbursts were short and often, and the older lady seemed deeply distressed… For a mere moment, the girl felt sympathy towards her master before Aliyah caught her gaze in the mirror and turned to face her, her face distorted in rage now channeled at her.

"What do you think you're looking at? Finish cleaning or I'll feed you to the lions!" She shouted at her, and all sympathy diminished just as quickly as it came, the servant girl, Namina, scurried out after fixing the last corner on a bed.

* * *

><p>Desiree's eye was caught by a man behind a stand, selling bread to passerbys. He seemed… familiar. The woman stopped in her tracks, tilting her head slightly as she examined him. Where had she seen him before? There was something so familiar… Desiree couldn't help but take a step over to the stand, the guard shadowing her every movement.<p>

The man glanced at her before his eyes widened, taking a step back. He almost seemed afraid of her… The young woman was quite confused and curious until the man spoke to her, his voice nervous.

"D-D-Desiree?" He spoke, and she took a hasty step back at the realization. He was her father. What he looked like may have faded in her memory, but his voice she would never forget. Never. But instead of completely ignoring him, she nodded but her lips were curved in a cold smile.

"Yes, it's your beloved daughter." She answered bitterly, emerald eyes narrowing, "What'd you do with the money you got?"

"Um… Money?" He seemed confused by her question, which even she had to admit, it was a little unclear. But she was fueled by her anger of him abandoning her, so she lashed out.

"The money you got for selling me to the harem!" Her voice, distorted in a snarl, lost its sultry and melodic tone.

"Oh… Uh.." He stuttered, backing up as she moved forward, around the stand until his back hit the dusty clay wall of his building, "I uh-"

"You what? Bought yourself a nice little mule? Was that worth your-" She stopped suddenly, looking down at the small girl who peeked out from the building behind the bread stand.

"Daddy?" The small girl called out, but then saw her pointing a manicured nail into her fathers face and blinked, "Who are you?" The high, childish voice asked her. Hadn't both her sibling and mother died in childbirth? Who was this, who called her father, 'daddy'? She wouldn't stay to ask questions, she didn't want to be around this man anymore even if she was curious. So Desiree turned, nearly bumping into the guard, but was stopped by a hand on her shawl-covered shoulder and turned back to see what he wanted.

"Desiree, if you'll forgive me for my actions in the past, please let me make it up to you. Would you like to come inside for some tea? You're always welcome to come…" He said, but she narrowed her eyes and jerked away from the rough callused hand still on her shoulder.

"I'm kind of busy nowadays." She hissed out at him and turned, her emerald eyes flashing over to the guard. "I want to go home." Her voice was low and angry, filled with built up tension that was threatening to snap.

The walk back to the harem felt long and torturous, the shawl covering her bare shoulders seemed to be too much in the blistering heat as she reflected back upon the short encounter with her 'father'. Her emotions were in turmoil, on one side she felt remorse for speaking so harshly and on another, she felt as if she had yelled at him more…

Arriving at the harem, her thin hand clamped the edge of the shawl and threw it off before disappearing into her quarters and slamming the door shut, her thin body collapsing onto the bed and becoming enveloped in her confusing thoughts.

* * *

><p><em>I tried to make Aliyah a little more human and a little less monster. So that some people could sympathize with her on one end, because if you think about it she has every right to be jealous... In modern times, if a woman finds out her husband is having an affair, they're quite jealous and do something about it. <em>

_But this story is about Desiree, and quite frankly I think Desiree should be the Sultan's wife but that's not the way things happen... Life is cruel. Oh, and if the whole market part of the story seems quite pointless, it is very very important for things to come.  
><em>


End file.
